TORIN YOUTH – CHAPTER 10: THE FIRE

Atreus, Bia, and Leon stand at the edge of the abyss in the Temple of Death, where Rhea has just plunged.

Atreus exhales, weighing the consequences of his next action.

“I’m going after her,” he says.

“What—” Before Bia can question his decision, Atreus leaps into the void, following Rhea.

“ATREUS!” she cries into the darkness, where not even an echo seems able to escape.

She turns to Leon beside her.

“Don’t do it,” Bia pleads. “Stay with me!”

“Bia, all my life I’ve tried to save my cousin Rhea,” Leon says. “I won’t stand by when she needs me the most.”

Leon dives into the abyss after Rhea and Atreus.

Bia’s eyes well with tears as she falls to her knees at the edge of the pit.

Rhea descends into silent darkness, alone with her thoughts.

“Strange…”

“It doesn’t feel like I’m falling.”

“I can’t tell where up or down is anymore.”

A light appears beneath her, illuminating a stone pathway.

“Light? Have I reached the end?”

Rhea’s feet touch the stone softly.

She looks toward the source of the glow.

A red flame burns there.

A familiar voice calls out.

“Rhea.”

The girl advances. “That’s… my voice,” she says.

Drawing closer, she sees herself standing within the fire.

Rhea marvels at this version of herself.

“She’s so strong… beautiful… and without any flaws.”

“Who are you?” Rhea asks.

“I am your heart’s desires,” the Rhea of flame replies.

“Can you make me whole again?” Rhea asks, gently touching beneath the bandage over her left eye socket.

“I can do more than that,” the Rhea of flame says as it begins to grow and change.

“…if you are willing.”

Rhea gazes at the flame’s final form with deep longing.

Meanwhile, Atreus lands softly on the stone pathway below.

He looks toward the light illuminating the trail.

Like Rhea, he sees a flame burning at the path’s end.

He approaches it cautiously.

A version of himself emerges from the fire.

Atreus studies it.

“What are you?” he asks.

“I am your heart’s deepest fears,” the Atreus of flame answers.

Atreus stiffens.

“What would that be?” he asks, visibly shaken.

“Inevitability,” the flame replies.

“I don’t fear the future… anymore,” Atreus says.

The flame shifts, revealing a vision within its fire.

“You don’t fear the future because you believe it is uncertain,” the flame says.

As this unfolds, Leon finds himself surrounded by darkness.

He desperately calls out to his cousin, hoping she isn’t too far gone.

“RHEA!”

At last, her voice answers him.

“LEON!”

A light appears in the near distance.

Leon swallows hard, recognizing it from his dreams.

“Is this really happening?” he asks himself.

“LEON!” the girl calls again.

The young man moves toward the light.

As he draws closer, it resolves into a flame.

“Rhea!” he calls, seeing her standing within the fire.

Rhea reaches her hand out toward him from the flames.

Leon grasps it.

“I won’t lose you, Rhea,” he says as he tries to pull her free.

“LEON!” Rhea cries as she emerges halfway from the fire.

“Just hold on to me,” he says. “Don’t let go.”

With a final effort, he pulls her out of the flame.

Rhea leans against Leon as he supports her.

“Leon…” she says somberly as a tear slips from her right eye. “I’m so sorry.”

“Rhea?” he asks, unsure what she means.

Sudden pain lances through his body.

Rhea’s right hand grips the handle of a dagger buried deep in his back.

Leon’s eyes fill with tears as he looks down at Rhea.

He sinks to his knees, still held in Rhea’s embrace as she kneels with him.

The dagger dissolves in her hand, dematerializing into a luminous red mist that drifts back toward the flame.

Rhea gently lowers Leon to the stone floor.

Leon reaches up to caress her face.

His hand slowly falls.

His eyes close.

“The price is paid,” the voice within the flame says as Rhea bows over Leon’s body.

At the same moment, Atreus stands before the Atreus of flame, resisting its pull.

“I will give you the power to slay Cadmeia, the woman who destroyed your future,” the flame says. “This is your opportunity to leave the path you are on.”

“NO,” Atreus answers, bracing himself. “I will walk it.”

“You have nothing left to lose,” the Atreus of flame insists.

“I have hope,” Atreus answers the flame with calm determination.

The Atreus of flame reflects. “We have rehearsed this before, haven’t we? In quieter moments. And we know that hope is no guarantee—“

It pauses, looking past the boy silently.

The flame shifts its gaze back to Atreus.

“As it appears, your time has run out,” it says quietly, dissipating before Atreus’s eyes.

Light tears through the black void as time and space twist around the young man.

The darkness at last is driven away completely and Atreus finds himself back in the sanctuary.

“Wha— I’m back?” he says, disorientated.

“LEON!!!” a voice cries out in agony.

Atreus turns toward the sound.

He sees Bia clutching Leon’s lifeless body on the ruined floor, wailing tearfully.

Helia, Gale, and Cadmeia crouch near her.

“He just appeared here like this,” Helia says, distraught.

Atreus’s heart drops.

“No… Leon… what happened?”

He asks the question even as he knows the answer.

Tears pour down his face.

“Rhea… HOW COULD YOU?!”

Light erupts from the pit, flooding the ancient sanctuary.

“What’s happening?” Gale asks, shielding her face with a wing.

Fear spreads across Cadmeia’s face as she understands what has been done.

Sophean, ever the voice of wisdom, gives shape to what the fox giantess already knows.

“Something is coming,” he says. “And we are not safe here.”

Atreus rushes to Bia’s side to help lift Leon.

“We’ve got to get him out of here,” he says.

“Don’t worry,” Bia replies tearfully. “I can carry him myself.”

Atreus nods and straightens.

“Atri,” Bia says before he can turn away. “Things are different now. Please… do what needs to be done.”

Bia carries Leon out of the sanctuary.

“I’ll go with her,” Gale says. “I’ll take her someplace safe.”

She follows the tiny girl outside.

Cadmeia gently sets Sophean down.

“You should go, Sophean,” she says.

The inu man nods, understanding, and flees the crumbling temple.

The pit erupts like a volcano, splitting wider as fire blasts upward, collapsing the ceiling.

The sanctuary shudders, on the brink of complete ruin.

Cadmeia and Helia dodge falling stone.

“Atreus!” Cadmeia shouts. “Get out of here!”

The young man sprints for the exit, augmenting his speed with innate magic.

Still, he can’t resist knowing what is emerging from the abyss.

He stops between the pillars at the front end of the sanctuary and looks back.

“I want to see what she’s done,” he says.

Within the shattered sanctuary, fire gathers into the shape of a massive harpy, alighting atop the rubble of the fallen ceiling.

The flames disperse, revealing Rhea’s new form.

Her long strawberry-blonde hair flows freely, no longer bound by the ribbon she once wore. Feathers of a dark pink color cover her wings and legs. Her human torso is bare, no longer burdened by the armor she once needed for protection.

With restored vision, her light green eyes take in the world from a giant’s perspective for the first time.

“At long last,” she says, regarding Helia and Cadmeia. “We can finally see eye to eye.”

Cadmeia gazes upon her with pity.

“What have you done to yourself, child?” she asks.

“I have been fully realized, fox,” Rhea replies. “No longer a prisoner of that weak form… or that hellhole called Torin.”

Atreus stares, stunned.

“I can’t believe this…” he says, barely breathing.

Helia’s eyes narrow, recalling the day before Atreus’ trial—and the look Rhea gave her then.

“So you think this makes you strong?” she asks.

“This is only one aspect of strength,” Rhea replies calmly. “The ability to carry out one’s will. Another is having the fortitude to eliminate vulnerabilities.”

“Are you satisfied?” Cadmeia asks. “Now that you’ve killed your own cousin?”

Rhea exhales, considering.

“Unfortunately, no,” she says. “There is one more vulnerability to eliminate before I can be perfect.”

Her enhanced vision passes over Helia and Cadmeia, locking onto Atreus just beyond the sanctuary.

Atreus feels her gaze and recoils.

Rhea licks her lips at the sight of him, her mouth watering.

“I understand why you were so uncomfortable in the Vixen’s body, Cadmeia,” Rhea says. “These gigantic forms… they awaken a peculiar hunger. But unlike you, I enjoy it.”

Cadmeia turns toward Atreus, horrified, realizing what Rhea intends to do.

“NO—not my son!” she cries.

Atreus staggers back behind one of the towering pillars, pressing himself against the stone. His heart pounds violently in his chest.

“Rhea…” he breathes, the name barely leaving him.

Rhea spreads her wings, smirking.

“You can’t outrun fate, Speros,” she taunts, launching herself into the air above the ruined sanctuary.

Helia shoots upward to intercept Rhea in the air.

Though Rhea has inhabited this form only briefly, years of combat training grant her the advantage. She effortlessly evades Helia’s attempts to grab or slash her with talons.

Rhea snatches Helia by the neck and drives her violently into the ground below.

“I’ve watched you waste so many opportunities, Helia,” the transformed girl says with frustration in her tone. “Now, it falls to me to do what you never had the guts to.”

“What’s that?” Helia asks, grimacing, choking under the pressure of Rhea’s talons.

To which, Rhea answers coldly, “Digest Atreus.”

With a powerful beat of her wings, Rhea takes flight again, dragging Helia with her.

The dark-pink harpy spins midair and hurls Helia into the temple wall, sending her crashing through stone.

Atreus dives behind the opposite wall as the ground trembles.

“This is bad,” he mutters. “I have to do something.”

He steps out and scans the distant city ruins, searching for anything he can use.

A ray of sunlight glints off a Caeli crystal.

“There,” he says.

Cadmeia rushes to Helia’s side.

“She’s unconscious,” Cadmeia says, her concern deepening.

She looks around frantically for Atreus.

“I hope he’s gotten far away by now.”

Rhea’s shadow sweeps over her.

Cadmeia looks up and spots the tiny human sprinting toward the city ruins.

With the acropolis isolated at the island’s edge, Atreus has nowhere else to run.

Rhea dives, snatching him up in her talons.

Atreus is yanked skyward.

The newly transformed harpy smirks, pleased with her catch.

“Isn’t this poetic?” she says as she climbs higher. “You, born to be prey. Me, born to be predator. Fulfilling our destinies together.”

Atreus scoffs.

“Bite me!”

Rhea tosses him above her head.

“No,” she says. “I’d rather swallow you whole.”

As he spins, Atreus reveals the Caeli crystal clenched in his hand.

Despite the fall, he manages to aim.

A bolt of lightning blasts into Rhea’s face.

“How about you eat something lighter?” he quips.

Rhea recoils, jolted by the strike.

Scowling, she shakes off the shock.

“You’re starting to piss me off,” she growls, diving after him.

Atreus looks up just in time to see Rhea’s jaws engulf him moments before he would hit the ground.

“Got him,” she thinks as she flips and lands.

“I should savor this,” she murmurs around the boy in her mouth.

Atreus grits his teeth as Rhea’s tongue presses beneath him.

He grips the crystal, charging it again.

“Let’s see if she can handle another—”

Rhea tilts her head back and swallows, interrupting the boy’s plans.

As Atreus drops into her stomach, Rhea exhales in satisfaction.

“So that’s what it feels like,” she whispers. “Wonderful.”

Inside Rhea’s stomach, Atreus steadies himself.

“This isn’t over yet.”

Lightning erupts from the crystal, slamming into the stomach walls.

Rhea gasps, pressing her abdomen with her wings.

“Nngh… foolish,” she mutters. “I should have separated him from that crystal first.”

Cadmeia charges, catching Rhea off guard and driving a fist into her stomach.

“Cough him up,” she commands.

The blow forces Rhea to retch, spitting Atreus free.

Cadmeia snatches the tiny human and runs.

Fury ignites in Rhea.

Fighting through the pain, she launches herself after them.

Cadmeia tries to lower Atreus safely, leaving herself exposed.

Rhea seizes Cadmeia by the back of the neck and slams her into the ground again and again.

Atreus hits the ground, rolling clear as the titans shatter stone with each impact.

The harpy crouches low, pinning Cadmeia beneath her weight.

“I suppose I should thank you for granting me the opportunity to devour your son a second time,” Rhea says in a frigid tone.

“WHY?” Cadmeia demands, unable to rise before being slammed back down. “Why do you want to take my son from me?”

“Because we cannot coexist in this world,” Rhea replies coolly. “I will not say it again.”

Atreus cries out as he hurls another lightning bolt at the harpy.

“GET OFF OF HER!”

Rhea raises a wing, blocking the strike as her feathers scorch.

She looks down at him, towering.

“You should run while you still can, Atreus.”

Cadmeia’s struggling weakens beneath Rhea’s weight, her movements faltering as she slips into unconsciousness.

“I have to try something different,” Atreus says, watching the Vixen’s eyes close.

“Rhea…” he calls.

She exhales, keeping her weight on Cadmeia’s neck, and fixes him with an icy stare.

“What?”

Atreus asks, “I need to know—why did you buy me that lute when we went out as a group?”

Rhea’s thoughts lurch backward…

…back to the day she and her teammates spent together before their trial began.

She remembers seeing Atreus—how he lingered over the lute, wanting it, but unable to afford it.

Then… she remembers what she felt in her heart, the feeling that drove her to buy it for him.

At the time, it had been the closest she could come to confessing—

The memory strikes her like a blow.

She freezes.

“W-what are y-you trying to do?” Rhea stammers, her face flushing as her heart begins to race. “W-why would you m-make me remember that?”

Atreus confesses, “That was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me… And it meant everything that it came from you.”

Rhea grimaces, emotions clawing their way to the surface.

“No… STOP!” she shouts. “Don’t do this to me!”

“You told me not to make a big deal of it,” Atreus says. “But it was a big deal. It had to mean something to you too.”

“I SAID STOP!” Rhea cries, covering her head with her wings.

“What did it mean to you, Rhea?” Atreus presses. “Why did you buy the lute?”

She looks at him, her expression faltering.

Tears well in her eyes.

“It’s… because… I…” she whispers, the confession trembling on her tongue.

“I…..”

She breathes heavily.

“….n-no!”

The tears fall freely. She no longer has the hands to wipe them away.

“No no no! I can’t!”

“Rhea, please!” the boy begs.

Rhea jerks her head away.

“WHY?” she demands. “After everything I’ve done… why do you still care?”

Atreus looks into her eyes with resolve and compassion.

“Leon won’t be the last person who knew there was good in you,” he says. “I know it’s there too.”

Rhea shifts her weight off Cadmeia and steps toward him, forcing her heart shut once more.

“For a moment, Atreus,” she says quietly, “I forgot how urgent it is that I end your existence.”

She crouches to meet the tiny human’s gaze.

He inhales deeply, steadying himself.

“Then I’ll keep surviving,” Atreus answers. “And prove your view of the world wrong.”

Meanwhile—

Cadmeia finds herself wandering within a light-filled space, untouched by darkness.

“Where am I?” she wonders.

She looks down at her hands and body, gasping in pleasant surprise.

“I’m human again… in my own body!”

She runs her fingers through her long, curly brown hair, beaming.

The joy fades as memory returns.

“Wait… I’ve been here before,” she says. “This is the Vixen’s mind.”

A voice answers from the white void.

“Yes, it is.”

Cadmeia recognizes it at once.

“Utalle,” she says.

“It has been a long time,” Utalle replies, manifesting before her as the Scarlet Vixen. She stands at Cadmeia’s height now, eye to eye. An equal. “This must be bittersweet for you.”

“It is,” Cadmeia exhales. “I’ve wanted to hear from you for so long. I felt abandoned in this body… and it was taking control of me.”

“It was me you were resisting,” Utalle says gently. “You were fighting the inevitable merging of our consciousnesses.”

Cadmeia grows still, emotion weighing heavily on her chest.

“You were able to see your son again,” Utalle continues. “You healed each other’s pain. Now… it is time for us to become one. It is the only way to save him.”

“I had hoped for more time with him,” Cadmeia admits softly. “And… I promised Atreus I wouldn’t forget him.”

“We won’t,” Utalle assures her, compassion filling her eyes.

A soft smile touches Cadmeia’s face. She exhales. “Thank you.”

Slowly, they approach one another until both vanish into a brilliant white light.

Back in the material world, Rhea opens her mouth before Atreus, intent on devouring what she believes to be her only remaining vulnerability.

Suddenly, the Scarlet Vixen rises to her feet, glowing with an electric-blue aura. A luminous mark in the shape of an open eye blazes on her forehead as psionic energy surges outward.

The giant harpy turns, sensing the power behind her.

“It seems you’ve found a second wind,” Rhea says, frowning.

“Leave the boy,” the Vixen commands. “Your fight is with me.”

She charges, slamming into Rhea and driving her back to the temple at the acropolis.

Helia jolts awake as Rhea crashes through the ruins.

“Woa—what a nap!” she groans.

She rubs her head with a wing.

“Owie… I really got my tailfeathers handed to me.”

The Scarlet Vixen lands before her, poised for battle.

“Friend of Atreus,” she says, “take him somewhere safe. He’s in the city ruins. Go—quickly.”

Helia scrambles to her feet. “R-right! Gotcha!”

She launches into the air, scanning the ground below.

“Yay—there he is!” she cheers upon spotting him.

Atreus stands alone when Helia lands nearby, his expression distant and somber.

Helia doesn’t ask questions. Compassion moves her instead.

“Come, Atreus,” she says softly. “I’m here for you.”

High above, Rhea and the Scarlet Vixen clash atop the acropolis.

Fire and psionic force collide, shaking the ruins with each impact. The ground fractures beneath them.

Centaurs emerge from the ancient ruins they guard, drawn by the violence.

To them, such a battle at the Temple of Death had always seemed inevitable.

Bia watches tearfully, still carrying Leon in her arms.

Gale crouches nearby as a giant centaur kneels to offer help to the grieving girl.

Above the ruins of the ancient temple, Rhea retreats skyward under the Vixen’s relentless assault.

But even there she finds no refuge.

The Scarlet Vixen runs through the air itself, propelled by telekinesis, and seizes the harpy mid-flight.

She hurls Rhea back down and lands atop her as the island beneath them begins to crumble.

The Vixen crouches over the fallen harpy, claws extended.

Rhea—emotionless—pays her a begrudging compliment.

“Now you have the eyes of a predator.”

The Scarlet Vixen retracts her claws, pity softening her gaze.

“I will leave you to your fate,” she says quietly.

She turns and departs quickly, leaving Rhea sprawled on the shattered remains of the temple.

Rhea lies motionless, staring blankly up at the sky.

The acropolis collapses as a sliver of the island beneath it breaks away and falls into the sea.

(NEXT CHAPTER - EPILOGUE)